The Mountain West Conference announced on Wednesday that it has invited Fresno State and Nevada of the Western Athletic Conference to leave the WAC for the MWC. The Mountain West is losing Utah — and possibly BYU — next season but gaining Boise State, another WAC school.

The MWC announcement came just minutes after league member BYU acknowledged reports that the Cougars could be going independent in football and joining the WAC in all other sports. The BYU statement stopped well short of confirming any of the reports, saying only that the school will explore its options.

Milt Glick, the school president at Nevada, issued a statement saying the Wolf Pack would explore the Mountain West invitation.

“We are seriously considering the invitation, and do so with the best interests of our athletics program, University, community and Wolf Pack fans as our priority,” Glick said.

Fresno State president John D. Welty issued a remarkably similar statement, adding that the Bulldogs were honored by the invitation and would consider it.

Comments

a few years back they were all in a big WAC....i think 16 schools total...then the original WAC members, going way back, split off and formed the MWC. The MWC is a little stronger than the WAC nowadays...BYU would probably dominate in basketball and the 'olympic' sports. BYU as an independent would become a national LDS team, like Notre Dame is a national brand Catholic school football team. The way to calm all these waters is to let the MWC for sure into the BCS scheme...